Nashville has by no means been brief on storytellers, however few mix grit and glamour as seamlessly as Rip Gerber. His newest single, Restricted Pace, takes listeners on a high-octane journey by means of the push-and-pull of a love transferring at mismatched tempos, joined by skilled race automotive driver Zoë Barry for the journey.
In a metropolis the place slow-burn ballads dominate, Gerber takes a special lane. The music blends his confessional songwriting with cinematic manufacturing, crafting an emotional parallel between romance and racing. “It’s about when love’s timing is off,” Gerber says. “One individual’s soaking within the second whereas the opposite’s already within the quick lane.”
That idea involves life within the Restricted Pace music video, which Gerber directed himself. It cuts between serene photographs of him gliding by means of Nashville’s 12 South neighborhood and Barry tearing down the observe in a McLaren Artura GT4. The visible distinction is electrical; Gerber’s regular rhythm in opposition to Barry’s no-holds-barred acceleration. Because the founding father of the all-women-led DART Racing Group, Barry provides a fierce, simple presence that mirrors the music’s stressed vitality.
Lyrically, Restricted Pace doesn’t maintain again:
“There’s a restricted pace that my love can go
You bought me falling to the earth
Sooner than the pull of gravity…”
The observe resonates with anybody who’s felt that emotional disconnect, when hearts beat to totally different clocks. “Generally you’re nonetheless figuring issues out,” Gerber says, “however they’ve already crossed the end line.”
The only follows his chart-topping Three-Chord City, which hit #1 on Amazon Music and launched the world to his deeply private songwriting model. Gerber’s personal backstory reads like a novel — former CIA analyst, Harvard MBA, and even a plumber, earlier than discovering his strategy to music after a string of devastating private losses in 2020. That seek for therapeutic grew to become the spark for his upcoming idea album, Three-Chord City, due later this yr.
Barry’s position within the undertaking goes past on-screen efficiency. Her DART Racing Group; piloting a McLaren Artura GT4 designed by TIME100 artist Mickalene Thomas; has been making waves in motorsports for its dedication to empowering ladies in high-performance racing. They’ll shut out the 2025 season with an all-female lineup competing within the 24H Collection Center East Trophy in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
For Gerber, the connection between his music and Barry’s racing profession is apparent: “Each worlds stay on adrenaline. Whether or not you’re chasing a melody or chasing a checkered flag, you’re using the identical type of excessive.”
Restricted Pace is accessible now on all main streaming platforms.
SPIN Journal newsroom and editorial employees weren’t concerned within the creation of this content material.
